An inquest was called and it began last year with Thursday being its last day. The judge has six months to write a report with recommendations, but he can ask for an extension if needed.

Zbogar told provincial court Judge Tim Preston he disagreed with provincial chief medical examiner Thambiraja Balachandra's conclusion 45-year-old Sinclair died "a natural death" in September 2008 when he took his last breath after 34 hours of waiting for care at Health Sciences Centre's emergency waiting room.

'If you don't give food to a person they will die. If you don't give medical treatment to a person who is sick they will die'

-- Vilko Zbogar, lawyer for the family of Brian Sinclair, speaking to reporters Thursday

Zbogar said a person doesn't die a natural death when they have a treatable bladder infection and they're surrounded by dozens of trained medical staff in a hospital who do nothing to help you.

"If you don't give food to a person they will die," Zbogar said.

"If you don't give medical treatment to a person who is sick they will die.

"The inquest should make a verdict this death was a homicide."

Zbogar told the judge while Winnipeg police -- in a report never made public -- recommended criminal charges be laid after a lengthy investigation, the Crown decided not to.

"You don't need to find someone was morally blameworthy to rule homicide, you just have to find it is because of human contribution."

Sinclair, a double amputee who used a wheelchair and had gone to the hospital to have a blocked urinary catheter checked and changed, may have died as many as seven hours before he was discovered dead in the waiting room.

The Sinclair family's other lawyer, Murray Trachtenberg, said the death wasn't caused by overcrowding or patient-flow issues.

"There were many, many hours Mr. Sinclair sat in the waiting room when it wasn't busy and when the nurses walked through the waiting room," Trachtenberg said.

"Mr. Sinclair was clearly visible to anyone who bothered to look... even if he'd just been a visitor there, he threw up twice. That's a clear sign of distress and he should have received medical care."

Trachtenberg said instead, cleaning staff cleaned the floor and security got him a large bowl to throw up in.

Trachtenberg said the only conclusion was staff "observed he was aboriginal, dishevelled and in a wheelchair. Prejudice was the overriding reason for the death of Mr. Sinclair."

Robert Sinclair, Sinclair's cousin, said he doesn't believe the truth about his cousin's death will ever come out.

"It's not the shape of the emergency room," he said. "It's not the lack of staff. I sincerely believe it was stereotyping of a bad nature.

"A public inquiry more broad would be better. To make people accountable."

Robert Sinclair said he knows what he would have done if he'd seen a person in his cousin's situation.

"As a human being, if I saw a struggling and sick person I would walk up and say 'Are you OK?' I'm a human.

The year in which Health Sciences Centre closed its emergency department on Bannatyne Avenue and opened its new emergency department on William Avenue. Internally, nurses immediately began complaining there were problems with seeing patients sitting in the waiting room. It was also the year in which Brian Sinclair fell unconscious outside in winter, leading to the amputation of his legs.

2008

The year Sinclair went to Health Sciences Centre on Sept. 19, with a blocked urinary catheter.

34

Number of hours Brian Sinclair, 45, sat in his wheelchair in the waiting room of Health Sciences Centre's emergency department.

0

The number of doctors and nurses who treated him at the HSC during those 34 hours.

7

The number of hours before Sinclair was declared dead when he could have been dead. Emergency room medical staff -- and a later autopsy -- found rigor mortis was already setting in when he was found on Sept. 21.

14

The number of HSC ER nurses who testified and were shown on hospital video they were working there during the hours Sinclair, a double amputee, sat in a wheelchair in the waiting room.

1

A single sheet of paper a hospital security camera showed a triage aide wrote on while speaking with Sinclair when he entered the department and was pointed towards the waiting room. No one who testified could remember if Sinclair's name was on the paper used at the time to keep track of patients not yet triaged. It was discarded and never found.

44

The number of days the inquest sat. It began Aug. 6, 2013 and ended June 12, 2014.

82

The number of witnesses who testified at the inquest.

9

The number of lawyers at the inquest. Two lawyers acted as inquest counsel, Sinclair's family was represented by two lawyers, the WRHA and HSC had two lawyers, the Manitoba Nurses Union had one, Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto had one, until it pulled out of the inquest, and doctors at the Health Action Centre had one.

2

The number of organizations that were allowed to participate, but didn't because they didn't get any funding for lawyers; the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Ka Ni Kanichihk.

6

The number of months provincial court Judge Tim Preston has to write his report and recommendations. There are provisions for asking for an extension.

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